The Burning Beacon
by rogue-scholar07
Summary: When Dafne was forced to make a detour in her flight path, she never dreamed it would result in bringing the wild realm of Vytal into the magical dimension. Or that her sister would become a Huntress, for that matter.
1. prologue: A Spark of Hope

**I do not own Winx Club or RWBY, or the characters used in this work of fanfiction. I also don't make any money off the publishing of this story.**

**The Burning Beacon**

**Prologue: A Spark of Hope**

Dafne didn't feel sure about this place, but it would have to suffice. She'd intended to make it all the way to Earth, but once she realized that the Ancestral Witches had put a Trace Spell on her, she was forced to take a detour to a planet well known for scrambling magical readings: Vytal. It was a wilder, harsher world than she wanted her beloved sister to grow up in, but it was one of the safest places in the known realms at the moment. The witches would never find her sister here.

She glanced down lovingly at the redheaded infant in her arms. Alexandra Deanna Bloom Fuego, second princess of Domino, slept peacefully in the warmth of her pink blanket. She had the most beautiful blue eyes—the same shade of blue-green that their grandfather had when he was alive. It didn't sit well with the crown princess of Domino to leave such a beautiful innocent child in such a harsh environment as this evergreen forest—a forest packed with man-eating monsters, but there was no other choice. Besides, she sensed someone was nearby and hoped that whoever it was would take compassion on her sister.

"Stay safe, little flower." Dafne whispered, carefully laying the infant down in the lee of a fallen tree trunk. "You may well be the only hope our people have." Her shaking hands pinned a small note to the blanket before she stood erect again. The stranger was coming ever closer, and she couldn't afford to be seen. With one last glance around the woods, Dafne disappeared in a flash of light and left behind her the comforting smell of the ocean.

* * *

The title of Hunter or Huntress ranked as one of the most revered in all of Vytal due to the planet's chronic Grimm infestation. The Hunters, skilled and powerful warriors, fought to keep people safe from the monsters that haunted their waking nightmares. Glynda Goodwitch was no exception.

The Emerald Forest of Vale had a serious Beowulf problem this year, and she had been called in by fellow Hunter Ozpin to deal with it. The forest was a training ground for young would-be Hunters, true, but they wanted the young trainees to at least have a fighting shot at survival. Beacon Academy, though new, had the reputation of its founders Hansel and Gretel Anderson drawing the best and brightest teachers and students to its gates every year. Ozpin had just been hired on as an instructor; Glynda didn't envy him. She preferred to be out in the middle of the combat, not observe it from afar. It was the main reason she had been asked to clear up the Beowulf issue along with the other instructors: her reputation for results preceded her.

She was following tracks through a less-dense part of the wood when she felt the unmistakable sensation of high-powered magic. Had someone else been here recently? She wondered. Altering her plans, she cautiously approached the area she'd felt the pull coming from. She slipped between the large tree trunks, leaped over logs and narrowly avoided landing on a pink bundle of…wait. What?

Skidding to a stop amongst fallen twigs and decomposing leaves, the blonde Huntress knelt down to examine the bundle. She felt her breath catch in her throat when she realized the pink blankets contained a small child. The little girl wasn't quite old enough to crawl yet and was currently sleeping soundly. She had bright red hair and wore a tiny blue outfit of some kind.

A square of folded paper pinned to the blanket caught Glynda's attention. Mindful not to wake the child, she tenderly removed it and began to unfold it. It felt more like expensive stationary than standard printer paper, and the writing on the inside was the elegant script of someone gifted in the dying (at least here on Vytal) art of calligraphy. The contents, however…well, she wasn't sure what to make of them.

_To whom it may concern,_

_It is with deep regret that I am forced to write this note. I had wished to be able to see my sister grow and thrive in our own home, but alas, it is not to be. She has been targeted by wicked people intent on either kidnapping or killing her. The best course of action is to leave her in the care of someone else in a place no one would think to look for her. _

_Her name is Bloom and she is eight months old. She is up-to-date on the vaccinations required where we come from and is in good health. Please, if you cannot care for her, place her with someone who can. She deserves only the best. _

_~Dafne_

"Bloom, is it?" Glynda asked, folding the note back up and sliding it into one of her pants pockets. "Well, I can't very well leave you here alone, can I? You'd be eaten within hours." Minutes, even, given the upsurge the Beowulf population experienced this year. The child mewed in her sleep, but didn't awaken. Careful hands lifted the girl off the ground and cradled her. "You have great power, Bloom." She remarked, walking in the direction of the academy. "You'll make a fine Huntress one day."

* * *

"You're back early. And what do we have here?" Gretel Anderson asked, walking closer to the younger Huntress. Gretel was a small-framed woman easily into her golden years with her gray hair pulled into a low bun and round wire-rimmed glasses guarding her brown eyes. These days, she'd traded in her battle armor for a tasteful green dress and sensible black shoes.

"This is Bloom; I found her in the woods." Glynda replied, shifting her hold on the infant so that Gretel could see her tiny face.

"What a sweet child." Gretel's mocha-colored eyes softened as she gazed at the child. "Why would anyone leave her in the Emerald Forest?"

"Because they knew people go through there to hunt." She replied, shifting her hold on baby Bloom yet again so she could pull the note out of her pocket. "This was pinned to her blanket." She handed the note to the older Huntress, who read it intently.

"So someone wants the child for her power, either because they wish to use it to their own advantage or because they fear it." The older woman mused. "The situation must be dire indeed for them to leave her in the forest."

"But what will we do with her?" Glynda asked. "Naturally, there are many families willing to take in a child, but with the power radiating from her aura…"

A chuckle sounded from her old friend and mentor. "Glynda, I believe you are yet again overlooking the most obvious solution." She smiled. "Hans and I…we are too old to keep up with a child. Ozpin means well, but he's not well suited to being a single parent. Doting uncle, perhaps, but not a parent."

An unfamiliar feeling settled in the pit of Glynda's stomach, chilling her entirely. "You can't possibly…no, you can't mean it." She fumbled for words, green eyes searching Gretel's brown ones. "Gretel, I'm an active Huntress! It's no life for a child!"

"Glynda, dear, has it ever occurred to you that you can remain an active Huntress while staying in one place?"

It had, but not in the way her friend was asking. "You want me to stay here at Beacon?"

"Naturally. It's far safer here and I'm sure the students would love a chance to babysit. You don't have to teach if you don't want too; just make sure the forest isn't completely overrun and help other professors capture certain Grimm for practical lessons."

A tempting offer—far too tempting for her to pass up at the moment. "Fine. I'll help." Glynda sighed, looking down at the sleeping babe in her arms. The things she did for this girl…and she hadn't been in her care more than an hour yet.


	2. Chapter 1: Smouldering Ember

**The Burning Beacon**

**Chapter 1: Smoldering Ember**

_Sixteen Years Later_

Bloom Goodwitch couldn't wait for the transport ship to arrive. The day had finally come, the day she'd been waiting all her life for. She had finally earned her place at Beacon Academy after sixteen years of home training from her Mom and Mom's old friend Mr. Ozpin. She even had her own weapon now: a sleek crossbow that transformed into a sub-machine gun. She named it Artemis after a fabled goddess of the hunt. Even if the goddess Artemis only existed in stories and legends, the name was bad-ass and she was proud to call her weapon by that name.

The only worrying thing about this year was the fact that she was at least a year younger than the other entering freshmen. Skipping a grade in the public and private school systems in Vale happened only in truly unusual circumstances; it was virtually unheard of for such a young home-taught Hunter or Huntress to do so exceptionally well on the entrance exams.

Then again, her mother had been one of the most gifted Huntresses of her era, able to use her aura as a primary power source rather than Dust. Glynda proudly taught this trick to her adopted daughter, who had a strong aura of her own. However, while Glynda dealt with general shields and attack blasts, Bloom specialized in fire. That affinity helped in selecting and creating her primary weapon. Crossbow bolts easily lit and burned as they flew through the air; bullets, alas, did not. Plus, she wanted something with a bit more range than standard melee weapons, gauntlets, and scythes. Artemis gave her that.

Nervous energy buzzed through her body like electricity as the redheaded Huntress stood at the entrance to the assembly hall. She'd managed to pull her wild red hair into a slightly messy ponytail, leaving her shorter bangs dangling by her face. Her official Huntress' outfit looked more functional than fashionable, consisting of a forest green ¾ sleeve high-neck blouse under a blue camouflage-print bodysuit. A simple forest-green belt held pouches—each containing tiny vials of dust and replacement arrowheads for Artemis—across her hips so she could reach them easily during a battle and a matching quiver rested on her back. Dark green boots protected her feet and lower legs, while matching gloves guarded her hands from injury.

As the shuttle landed and the other new students began to spill onto the grounds, Bloom frowned. Some of the girls appeared to be wearing armor, but the rest…she wondered if they took their training seriously. Full skirts might be nice to move in, but they got caught on _everything_. She did spy one new student of interest, however—a brunette rabbit-eared Faunus. The girl seemed constantly on edge, always glancing over her shoulder or into reflective surfaces to head off prospective attacks. A group of troublesome-looking boys appeared to be discussing the new girl in earnest detail; they would probably wind up bullying her before midterm exams were over. Although, if she had anything to say about it, they would also land themselves in the infirmary with second-degree burns and/or crossbow bolts sticking out of their arms, legs, and asses. She didn't want to be popular or well-liked and certainly didn't want to be hated, but she wasn't about to let a bunch of thugs with more balls than brains dictate the school's reaction to its more unusual inhabitants.

At least now she had a valid excuse not to hold back during dueling class. If the jerks tried anything with her, they would soon live to regret it. She got into this school on her own talent, not her mother's reputation, and intended to cement herself as a Huntress worthy of this school before their first exam ended.

* * *

The next morning found Bloom and the other entering freshmen gathered on a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. The redhead listened carefully to Ozpin's instructions, cyan eyes scanning the dense evergreen canopy for signs of trouble. She'd gone hunting with her mother enough to know that the forest could be deadly to a novice Huntress. Odd that the same dangerous place was where her mother found her all those years ago.

Upon hearing the words "drop in", a maniacal grin spread across her lips. She knelt into a better launching position on her platform, waiting to be shot skyward. As she went into free-fall mode, she thought about the testing groups for this year. Usually there were enough entering students to form five teams of four with one team of two or three left over, but this year only 21 students got approved for entry into Beacon Academy. There would be five teams of four, with one person left without a team until next year, when they could be paired with a group of mismatched freshmen. The chances of Bloom being the odd-person-out actually rated rather high, since she was the daughter of one of the teachers and could therefore take care of herself in the forest. She didn't mind it all that much; it would keep any of the other teams from accusing Mom or Ozpin of favoritism and prove she was capable of doing something right all by herself.

Tumbling through the tree canopy, Bloom managed to use her momentum and agility to her advantage by grabbing onto passing branches and treating them like trapeze bars. In doing this, she slowed her descent speed enough to land without creating a crater or shattering the bones in her legs upon impact with the ground. She didn't stop moving, continuing forward into the forest and closer to the temple ruins. Stopping only served to attract Grimm, and she'd rather avoid them wholesale today.

She slipped silently through the trees, venturing closer to the ruins. Sounds of the other teams fighting various Grimm echoed throughout the forest, but she ignored them. The other students were likely more focused on finding partners than their goal and were unfamiliar with the forest. While Bloom wanted to be part of a team, finishing the mission objective came first. Finally, the ruins peeked into her line of sight, and she bolted toward them. One of the teams—a pair of boys in metal armor—arrived as she entered the area. They didn't pose an immediate threat, so she paid them no mind as she grabbed one of the chess pieces sitting on the stone pillars. The boys picked up a Bishop; she opted for a pawn. The teams were determined by what pieces the pairs chose, and any idiot could see that most students would go after the more powerful pieces. Rooks, Bishops, Knights, Queens, and Kings—all those she left for the teams. Let them fight over who had the best piece; she just wanted to wrap this assignment up as fast and efficiently as possible.

Halfway back to the rally point, she felt something huge ping off her aura. Like a large Dust explosion…or a portal. Could one of the other students have run into trouble? Shaking her head, Bloom turned and ran in the direction of the disturbance. As she got closer, she felt rather than saw the bursts of magic ahead of her. She caught a fleeting glimpse of blonde hair and an orange outfit and for a split second thought it was that chick with the shotgun arm gauntlets. Once she got closer, however, she realized that this girl was **not** Yang Xiao Long.

She stood tall on heeled knee-high orange boots, a silver staff in her dainty hands. Her long, sleek golden hair was pulled back into low pigtails and blue wings sprouted from her back. Bloom felt her breath hitch. It had been decades since a Fae had been recorded in or around Vale. Faunus they had in spades, but Fae? Not in a very, very long time. And the creatures trying to attack her (a group of lesser Helspawn and what appeared to be a standard Woodland Ogre) weren't native to this area either. Could she have been the one to open the portal?

"Hand over the staff, little fairy!" The Ogre ordered.

"Never!" The blonde Fae cried defiantly. "I am Princess Stella Luna Solis of Solaria, and I would rather die than hand over the Scepter of Solaria to a thug like you!" Warm energy radiated from her thin frame. She didn't _look_ very powerful, but her aura said otherwise. The girl had power and a rough idea of how to use it, but remained pitifully outnumbered in this match.

So, a robbery gone bad, was it? Bloom narrowed her eyes, carefully pulling Artemis into firing position and readying a bolt. She watched the exchange, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.

"My master wants that staff, and they're gonna get it!" The Ogre roared. "Get her!" The Helspawn jumped at Stella, but the girl admirably fended the pesky creatures off by blasting yellow-tinted energy at them. Enraged, the ogre growled and began to walk toward the young fairy.

That was all the opening Bloom needed. A quick spell ignited the bolt as she fired Artemis, the arrow sailing through the gap between the trees and striking the ogre in the shoulder. She swiftly shot two more bolts, this time without the flames. By then, the ogre was well and truly pissed off, and Bloom decided it was safe to reveal herself.

"Who's there?" the beast shouted. He stared in dumbfounded shock when she suddenly appeared from out of the forest, Artemis—now in gun form—trained on him.

"I am, ugly." Mom was probably going to kill her for baiting an ogre, but Bloom honestly didn't care as much about that as she did protecting Stella. "Go back to the world you came from now or you won't live long enough to regret it."

The Ogre looked dumbstruck (not a hard accomplishment, in her opinion). She knew he could feel her aura pulsing wildly, waiting for a moment of release. She wasn't sure if that or the gun terrified him more. "What's a fairy doing on Earth?"

"This isn't Earth, you dimwit." She tried her best not to laugh at his stupidity. Yes, both realms had evergreen forests, but Earth lacked Grimm and Dust-based weaponry. "Welcome to Vytal's Emerald Forest, home to Hunters, Grimm, and a few brave Faunus. Now go back where you came from and leave the Fae alone before this Huntress puts a bullet between your eyes."

The mustard-yellow creature seemed to consider his options for a moment before growling and stuffing his right hand into the pocket of his overalls. "This isn't over, brat." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, make with the gone already." She kept her weapon trained on him as he glared at the Helspawn.

"Retreat!" He called out, activating some kind of portal device. Most of the lesser Helspawn reluctantly followed him through it, but a handful of less intelligent pack members stayed behind and tried to rush her and Stella. Only a few different types of fire worked on Helspawn and without knowing which one she possessed, Bloom opted for the 'safe' option and peppered them with red Dust bullets while Stella blasted energy at them. Her attack energy, Bloom noticed, felt similar to sunlight and did wonders against the Helspawn. The stragglers let out an otherworldly shriek as they died; she winced at the volume of the noise. That kind of ruckus would attract a Grimm in no time flat.

"Wow!" Stella looked at her with an awed expression. The blonde looked ready to jump up and down in excitement despite the fact that her Fae form just flickered 'off' and left her in an orange dress that more readily fit the image of 'princess' than a pair of shorts and a crop-top. The scepter shrunk down into a ring that she quickly slid onto her right hand. Her amber eyes shone with excitement even as her knees began to buckle beneath her. "That was awesome! I didn't know this world had any fairies, but you've totally changed my mind!" She smiled, took a step forward…and promptly passed out on the forest floor.

"Stella!" All thoughts of stealth and silence left her mind as she watched the taller girl fall. Bloom dove to catch her, but got there a smidgen too late to be of use. "Oh gods, this is so not good." She groaned as she knelt at the fallen Fae's side. The girl's breathing sounded normal and her heart beat strongly, but her aura felt incredibly faint. The fight must have used up her magical reserves, Bloom realized, and the best recovery method was rest. But she couldn't just leave the girl here to sleep it off; too many things here would eat her. "Hang on, I'll get you back to…" She gasped halfway through that sentence as a roar sounded from somewhere nearby and branches snapped in quick succession. "Oh, this is gonna _suck_..." she lamented as a rather large Ursa burst out of the foliage and into the clearing.

"Change of plans—I'll get you to the rendezvous point _after_ I get rid of the giant Ursa that wants to eat you."


	3. Chapter 2: A Candle in the Window

**The Burning Beacon  
**

**Chapter 2: Candle in the Window**

Bloom squelched the panic threatening to overrun her mind. Yes, Stella was passed out and a rather large Ursa seemed very interested in eating them both, but she could handle it. A Huntress never backed away from an innocent in danger, and the blonde Fay certainly qualified.

She flew into action as the Grimm advanced, running directly into its path in a bid to distract it from Stella's prone form. Dust bullets impacted its thick hide in quick bursts but left no noticeable injury to the great beast. It roared in anger, swiping at her with one of its enormous clawed paws, but she rolled out of the way and launched a fireball at it. Its fur, while thick and resistant to bullets, easily burned and distracted the beast long enough for her to convert Artemis back into crossbow form and load a bolt. All she needed was a decent shot…which she currently did not have. The creature swatted again, and she was back to playing defense rather than offense for a while.

Though some truly lucky ducking and rolling, she managed to place herself under its hulking frame and in prime position to launch a bolt into its heart. With a cry of fury she pulled the trigger and rolled to the left as the creature tried to claw her. Artemis' aim held true, metal arrowhead slicing through tough hide and muscle and fat to pierce the vital organ. The Ursa bellowed and flopped to the ground, driving the shaft farther into its body. It would bleed out in a matter of seconds, but Bloom knew better than to stick around that long. Hefting Stella's unconscious form over her shoulder, she took off toward the rendezvous point in a dead run. No way an injured Fay would last long out here. Besides, the girl's comment about 'no fairies on Vytal' piqued Bloom's curiosity. She wondered what the blonde meant by that, but supposed she'd have to wait until the girl woke up to find out.

And Mom would know what to do for the exhausted teen; might even know how to contact Solaria. No doubt the realm would prepare for all-out war once they discovered their princess missing. Vytal couldn't even handle its own internal conflicts, let alone an assault from a superior army like Solaria's. It was, therefore, imperative that someone let the king know his daughter was alive and well. Bloom took it as a personal charge to see that Stella stayed that way.

* * *

Glynda resigned herself to the fact that her daughter likely wouldn't gain a partner or a team this year. The odds and enrollment numbers indicated that Bloom would go through this year—her freshman year—all alone. Oh, it bothered her immensely, but she refused to hold the girl back another year just to make the numbers match up. Bloom earned her way into the freshman class this year and intended to prove to anyone watching that she could do this on her own; all Glynda could do now was watch and support her daughter from the sidelines.

So when the redhead emerged from the woods with a strange blonde girl draped over her shoulder, Glynda frowned in confusion. She knew the faces, colors, and armour schemes of all entering students this year, and that girl most definitely had not enrolled at Beacon. In fact, she looked more like an heiress than a Huntress. "Bloom, what is going on? Who is this girl?"

"She's a Fay; I found her fighting off a Woodland Ogre and a pack of Lesser Helspawn in the forest. I stumbled on them while tracking the signal of a large magical discharge, which was probably a portal since that's how the ogre escaped." The redhead frowned before shrugging her free shoulder. "She identified herself as Princess Stella of Solaria. I ran the ogre off and helped clear out the Helspawn before she passed out, and I couldn't just leave her in the Emerald Forest…"

Dimly aware of Ozpin's curious gaze, Glynda sighed. "Come, we'll take her to the school and let the nurse on duty treat her." From the feel of the girl's Aura, it was likely exhaustion that caused her to collapse and not something more sinister. "If she really is who she said she was, we'll need to contact both her home realm and wherever she was going when she was taken." Likely the realm of Magix, but she could be wrong about that.

"Do you think she's really from Solaria, Mom?"

"I don't know for sure. She certainly has the right aura for a typical Solarian, but we haven't had one of their people visit Vytal in many years. Now, you said she was fighting off a Woodland Ogre when you found her. How did she fare against him?"

"I think she might have been able to best him on her own if he had been her only opponent; the ogre wasn't too bright or fast. The swarm of Helspawn turned the fight in his favor, though." Her daughter frowned. "She has a lot of fire power, but she used up a lot of it blasting away Helspawn and disrupting the portal. The ogre seemed to think he was on Earth, not Vytal, so if he opened the portal that brought them here, I'd bet she used whatever magic she had to disrupt it and dump them on a planet that had at least a little magic left."

"A sound theory. You'll do well in your tactical analysis class if you can keep thinking like that." Glynda nodded. "Do you know why they were after her in the first place?"

"Her staff—well, it's a ring now." Bloom corrected herself. "He wanted her staff—she called it the Scepter of Solaria, and wielded it proficiently enough to take out some of the smaller Grimm. It seems to give her a power boost as well as a focus for her energy."

Well, damn. If the blonde Fay really did have the Scepter of Solaria, she belonged to the royal bloodline. This could mean major trouble for Vytal as a whole. "I've heard of that particular weapon. It's an heirloom of the royal family and a powerful magical object. We can question your new friend about it once she recovers."

Though it was entirely selfish, Glynda hoped that the blonde Fay would stay for more than a few days. Perhaps an exchange program could be worked out with the other schools? Anything to keep Bloom from feeling any more isolated from her peers than she already did.

* * *

Stella awoke to a bright white room that was definitely NOT the Alfea infirmary. She'd been in that room enough times to know what its interior looked like, and this sleek metal-accented area wasn't it. She winced as the bright overhead lights assaulted her eyes, a soft moan escaped her lips in the process.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" The sound of another voice caused Stella to turn her head in its general direction. As she squinted, she noticed a girl with flaming red hair and pale skin sitting next to her. "I was starting to worry. You were out for nearly four hours."

Four hours?! "What?" She rasped, forcing her vision to focus on the girl. Her mind recognized the redhead as her unexpected savior back in the forest. "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary of Beacon Academy, city of Vale, realm Vytal." The redhead softly answered. "You passed from magical exhaustion out in the Emerald Forest, so I brought you here to recover."

"I remember you from the woods." She murmured. "You saved me from the ogre and those nasty creatures."

"Their technical name is Lesser Helspawn and yes, I did." The other girl smiled. "I'm Bloom Goodwitch."

"Princess Stella of Solaria." Stella responded. "You people do know about Solaria, right?"

"We do, and now that you're awake, you can contact your keepers and let them know that you're alive, albeit in a different place than intended." Bloom replied. "I'm guessing you didn't mean to end up here when you left Solaria."

"No." The blonde shook her head. "I was heading to Alfea College in Magix when that stupid ogre waylaid me and disrupted the transport portal."

"Huh. Guess we'll need to talk to them too." Bloom shrugged. "There's a whole school for Fay? I mean, I knew there was a school that trained 'heroes', which are kinda like wimpy Huntsmen, but I never knew there was one for Fay."

"Oh, there are several colleges in addition to the secondary schools and private tutors, but I suppose Vytal has been without one for so long that fairy education has fallen totally off the priorities list." Stella focused on the girl next to her. "But because it's been so long, you could totally get a scholarship or two to study in Magix!"

"Whoa, back that thought up a moment." The redhead held her hands up. "I'm a Huntress, like Mom and everyone else here at Beacon. Yes, I have an unusually strong aura, but a Fay? I think that's a bit of wishful thinking."

"Is there a rule that says you can't be a Huntress _and_ a Fay?" Stella countered. "Because what you totally have magic, Bloom. I mean, since it's undifferentiated, you could feasibly become a witch just as easily as a fairy, but you weren't channeling like a witch at all."

Bloom gave her a blank, confused stare. "But what I do is no different than most Hunters. My aura may be stronger than most, but all Hunters can channel their Aura to do amazing things. How am I any different than them?"

"How you channel it, for one. Kudos to whoever trained you because you have really good base control, but the way you channel it isn't anything like how a specialist, wizard, witch, or paladin operates. It's a little off what's taught in most magical dimensions, but you channel your magic, your Aura like a fairy." She stared down the smaller girl. "I bet you'd unlock your base form in no time!"

"We'd have to prove it all to my mom before I start any crazy training programs." Bloom snorted. "I'm already signed on for another four years here at Beacon Academy and I don't think they have the staff to manage fairy training."

"Uhg, you're right." Stella scrunched up her nose. "You can get your basic spell-fire and defensive tactics training here, but flight class and potionology are going to be difficult."

"Maybe the people at Alfea will have some ideas?" Bloom suggested.

"You know, you just might have a point there…"

* * *

"Stella, thank the Dragon you're safe!" King Radius cried through the video monitor. Ozpin, Glynda, Stella, and Bloom were gathered in the communications room where a three-way chat between the Alfea headmistress, Beacon Academy representatives, and Solarian monarchy had been arranged. "How did you wind up so far off course?"

"I got attacked by an ogre and a pack of Helspawn while I using the scepter." The golden-eyed blonde replied. "They threw the trajectory off and I wound up here in the woods. I'd have been a goner if Bloom hadn't shown up."

"Twice over, since the fight drew the attention of a rather large Ursa Grimm after you collapsed from exhaustion." Bloom added.

"And how, exactly, did you manage to defeat an Ursa, Miss Bloom?" Faragonda, the white-haired headmistress of Alfea, asked.

"Dust bullets, flaming arrows, and fireballs, along with a lot of ducking and dodging." Bloom shrugged. "My Aura base is fire, and their fur burns pretty well."

"And you channel your Aura like a fairy." Stella chirped happily.

"You have my deepest thanks for rescuing and caring for my daughter." King Radius intoned solemnly. "Do you know why the ogre attacked."

"It said that its masters wanted the Scepter, which I told him he wouldn't get." Stella stated. "I don't know what the master wanted it for, but the ogre seemed pretty intent on taking it up until Bloom showed up and evened the fighting odds."

"It left through a portal." Bloom muttered, earning the focus of everyone else in the room. "Can Woodland Ogres open magic portals on their own? We don't have any around here, so I don't know for sure…"

"No, they cannot." Faragonda didn't look very happy. "And until we investigate the matter more thoroughly, I am reluctant to suggest your return, Princess Stella. It is possible you have an enemy here in Magix."

"But where am I supposed to go to school? And what about Bloom? She's a fairy, I know it!" Stella protested.

"We can teach you to channel your magic without transforming right here at Beacon Academy." Ozpin spoke up. "Perhaps a correspondence course would fill in the gaps?"

"Perhaps." Faragonda nodded. "Radius? What is your opinion?"

"My opinion is for my daughter to stay wherever she is safest." The man responded. "And in a school full of specialists and warriors, I feel that, for the moment, she is safest where she is."

Bloom's cyan eyes lit up. "Does this mean I get to keep her as a partner?" She asked her mother, who chuckled lightly.

"Yes, Bloom. She will be your teammate for as long as she stays." The blonde Huntress smiled.

"How am I safest here, exactly?" Stella petulantly folded her arms across her chest. "The ogre knows I'm on Vytal and escaped before we could try to catch him! His masters or whoever might send something bigger and stronger!"

"Bring it on." Bloom smirked. "I may let one of the other teams deal with whatever shows up."

"Don't worry, Princess Stella." Ozpin smiled. "You're well protected here."

* * *

Knut stumbled out of the portal, falling ungracefully to his knees and panting for breath. He couldn't believe he'd been bested by a spoiled princess and the crazed Huntress, but he knew better than to stick around when it went south. He was better a coward than a dead hero.

"Knut! What are you doing?" One of his mistresses shouted. He could barely make out her curly short hair in the shadowed room. "Where's the stupid fairy?"

"What happened?" A calmer, more collected voice asked. She had her long hair in a high ponytail. "Why is there a crossbow bolt sticking out of your shoulder?" He winced.

"Forgive me, Mistresses. The fairy fought my attempts to redirect the portal and dumped us onto somewhere called Vytal. I almost had her defeated when one of the locals showed up and started shooting and lobbing fireballs at us. We did, however, manage to rip off a piece of the princess's gown before then. A decent hunting troll should be able to find her."

"Vytal?" The poofy-haired woman snorted. "That backwater? I didn't realize they had anyone capable of lobbing fireballs on that planet."

"Don't discount the Hunters there, little sister." The second voice said. "Many of them would make strong witches and wizards, when properly trained."

"At least we know where they are and that we can track them." A third and final female spoke, long hair billowing behind her like a cape. "What did the interloper look like, Knut?"

"Bright red hair, shorter than the princess, fair skin, blue and green outfit." The ogre recalled. "She mostly stayed under the shadows of the trees or moved like a blur so I didn't get a very good look at her."

"Interesting." The second witch mused. "That…is actually very useful information. You have done well in boxing the spoiled little princess in on that wild realm. You," she pointed to the curly-haired woman, "I need you to get us a hunting troll while we tend to the bolt wounds."

Knut's shoulders sagged in relief. They weren't displeased with him, not any more than usual anyway. The youngest of the women growled and stalked off into the shadows as the two others came closer. It was going to hurt, but at least they were helping him and not hurting him today. That alone was worth something…wasn't it?


End file.
